sssssmokin'!!

Hi everybody!

This morning, I got up extra-early to do a bit of Garage-Sailing ('tis the season!). To make a long story short: I am now the proud owner of a Brinkmann Smoke'n'Grill charcoal smoker.

The nice lady running the yard sale saw that I was interested in the smoker; I took the lid off, pulled out the grates, etc. The hand-written price tag said "$20". She told me that if I liked it, I could have it for $5. I immediately handed over a $5 bill, and said "I'll be right back...just gotta go get my car!"

The smoker is in fine shape (it did require a little cleaning--it had been stored in a garage or a basement for about a year), and all the instructions/literature came along with it. I took it with me to the restaurant, and I used our industrial dishwasher to clean up the "internal" parts.

Tomorrow night, weather permitting, I'll fire it up for the first time. I can use charcoal, wood, or a combination of the two, so it looks as though I have some learning to do. I already have lots of smoking wood (lumps and chips) on hand, but I'll have to buy a bag of charcoal.

I already have a few really delicious recipes for various smoked dishes (beef, chicken, several types of seafood, and my favorite: pork!). I've tried them on my regular gas grill, which I've set up as a smoker (indirect heat and a smoke box), and I've had some very good results. I can't wait to try them out on an actual smoker!

I'll be posting some recipes--they're actually quite easy, but they tend to take a long time--tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!